Inflatable air bags are sometimes deployed in vehicles to protect the occupants in the event of a front collision that would tend to throw the occupant toward the dashboard and windshield. Generally, a driver side airbag is deployed in the steering wheel in a folded state proximate to an air inflator buried within the steering wheel or steering column. The passenger side airbag may be located within a housing in the dashboard.
In an emergency situation calling for deployment of the airbag, inflation gas is communicated from the inflator to rapidly inflate and deploy the airbag to contact the vehicle occupant as the occupant moves forward within the vehicle cabin. The airbag softens or at least cushions the motion of the occupant to protect the occupant from serious injury. In general, such airbags are commonly designed to be inflated in no more than a few milliseconds.
To be effective, the airbag cushion is generally stored in an out-of-the-way location until needed. Moreover, an air bag is stored in such a manner that it can be rapidly activated to function in the desired manner. In modern vehicle design, however, where space comes at a premium, out-of-the-way storage volumes for the storage of an air bag are usually rather limited. Thus, an air bag may typically be folded into a small packet so that it fits into a small volume.